At the same time, the number of WeChat users
Have you ever played or been exposed to He Tuber WeChat mini games? Why are more and more companies now committed to the development of small games? In this article, the author explains the addictive logic of WeChat mini-games and the ecology behind them. Let’s take a look together, which may help you better understand the WeChat mini-games business.
This week, I was taking stock of the completion of annual tasks in 2023. After counting the number of readings and reading time this year, I found that my time playing WeChat mini-games has increased in the past three months. For someone who has never played games since childhood, the data is really shocking. Try to briefly analyze the logic and ecology of WeChat games that make me addicted.
Why did I suddenly fall in love with playing WeChat games? Why are more and more companies committed to the development of small games? What are the advantages of WeChat mini games? What big business lies behind this small game?
1. Why are mini games addictive?
Recently, I have fallen madly in love with WeChat mini-games such as Salted Fish King, Fat Goose Gym, and Start Nursery. These mini-games can be completed within a few minutes. The game rules are simple and easy to learn, and they are very friendly to idiots like me who play the same game.
Usually, I like to open WeChat mini-games during extremely fragmented times, such as when going to the bathroom, waiting for the elevator, waiting for the bus, or waiting for a meeting. These fragmented scenes usually only last for a few minutes. Because the time is short, I am too lazy to go to the public account to filter articles, and I don’t want to watch short videos. Playing a small game is just right. Mini games look like products created for fragmented scenes.
So, why is it the mini-games that make me addicted, rather than APP games or other client and web games? In my opinion there are 4 important reasons:
WeChat mini-game user path is short
One of the reasons why I didn’t like to play games before was that occasionally I saw an app game that I was interested in, and the user’s usage path was very long. From the time the user sees the advertisement, to the jump page → to the prompt to open the browser → to the prompt to download → to the final opening of the game, the longer the user path, the greater the probability of quitting and churn midway (for each additional user path to the product, the churn rate will increase 50% higher).
If a game product can be played by users immediately, the excitement of the user's brain can be satisfied immediately, and the probability of playing the game will be greater. WeChat mini-games satisfy users’ needs of “getting what they want immediately”. Clicking on an advertisement can immediately launch the game, which provides a great user experience.
2. No need to download, fast startup, fast iteration
Another reason is that the game installation package of the APP takes up a lot of mobile phone memory, the installation package needs to be updated frequently, and the APP startup speed is slow. WeChat mini-games do not require downloading and are very fast to start.In terms of version iteration, mini games will be updated in about 7-10 days. During version iteration, users only need to refresh the page without any other operations. These advantages are incomparable to app games.
3. Stronger dependence on the scenes of mini-games
Each user opens WeChat N times a day. WeChat can meet the user's needs in all scenarios of eating, drinking, having fun and communicating with others. With WeChat in hand, you feel like you have everything in the world, and mini games take over the functional requirements of the "play" part of WeChat.
Enter any product name in the WeChat search box, and you will be able to find a large number of mini-games that have been put on the shelves. Your needs for finding play scenarios in WeChat will be met. It is simply the universal WeChat. At the same time, it is very convenient to play mini games and process WeChat information simultaneously, which has natural product advantages.
4. The shorter the game, the better the experience of playing it with a mini program.
If it takes 20-30 minutes to play a game (such as King of Kings), the game has high requirements on mobile phone performance. Such games usually have a better experience when played using apps.
However, for small games that are not time-sensitive and can be ended at any time, such as Fat Goose Gym and Start Nursery, which I like to play, using mini programs has a natural advantage. Because WeChat mini-games have few dependencies, users do not need to be upset or angry when they end the game suddenly. They can end the game at any time and can continue playing seamlessly the next time they open it. Throughout the entire process, the user's product experience is continuous and feels good.
Why are more and more companies committed to the development of small games?
After the first WeChat mini-game "Tiaoyitiao" was launched, business owners quickly gained insight into the market and advantages of mini-games. After experiencing the "impact" of the black swan of the epidemic for three years, users have continued to increase the frequency and duration of game use, and the market space is huge.
1. Increase in advertising volume of mini-games
According to Hot Cloud statistics, in the first half of 2023, the amount of WeChat mini-games deployed by major enterprises increased rapidly compared with 2022.
Breaking down the placement of each mini-game, take the advertising consumption list of the top 20 WeChat mini-games in October 2023 as an example. The types of games on the list are very similar to the game styles preferred by users on the app. Therefore, it is a good starting point for companies to invest in small games of similar styles.
2. The MAU and business data of mini games are considerable
We know that even if business owners increase advertising for mini-games, it is useless if users do not accept the advertising after the advertiser makes the move (advertisement). But in fact, advertisers’ investment and users’ love for mini-games go both ways.
In the first half of 2023, the user base of light mini-games has increased by 30%, and users are becoming more and more diverse. They are more willing to share, express, and recommend friends around them to play games. This is a good example for mini-games. Brings endless opportunities.
Currently, the MAU of the mini-games at the top of WeChat is very strong. For example, King of Salted Fish reached the top in October. King of Salted Fish’s MAU in October was 7381.73W, while Crazy Knights’ MAU was 8794.14W. The MAU of these two small games are much higher than Genshin Impact’s 7000W.
At the same time, the number of WeChat users has reached 1 billion, and top mini-games still have a lot of room for market growth, and fun mini-games can quickly trigger a wave of user activity growth. (Such as a 22-year-old sheep becomes a sheep)
The higher the user MAU of a mini game, the greater the commercial value, and the higher the revenue it can bring to the enterprise. This is the main reason why more and more companies are committed to the development of high-quality mini games.
PS: To give a rough estimate, the income of top mini-games is very objective. The monthly revenue of the top 10 mini-games is around 80 million.
After reading the data of the mini program, I felt like the clown was actually me. I used to be disdainful when I saw mini-game ads placed by business owners. I thought the ads were low or for other reasons, so I restrained myself from clicking on the mini-games. However, advertisers always have ways to make mini-games reach you, and there are always times when users accidentally click on mini-games.
Behind this small game is the user's love for the game, a big business that makes business owners a lot of money, and a huge game between the game's traffic platform and the ecological platform. Let’s appreciate this last sentence
I'm a game newbie, if there are any mistakes in my explanation, please criticize and correct me, I'd be very grateful~~~
columnist
Kaka, WeChat public account: Kaka’s product notes, everyone is a product manager columnist. 8 years of experience in operating large-scale Internet products. He has been responsible for products such as rice hulls and mobile phone themes, and the creation of IP fonts has led the industry. He has been both a business operator and a self-media creator, and has his own insights into product operations and content operations.
This article was originally published on Everyone is a Product Manager and may not be reproduced without permission.
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